Welcome to Home Health UK’s News page with all the health news stories we think you might be interested in from the months of April & May.

In this part of the site we aim to provide you with some of the latest health information regarding diagnosis of various illnesses and medical conditions. We will also aim to tell you about any developments in any of our current products and any future products we believe we may sell.

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On the spot cervical cancer test

Scientists believe that a probe designed by researchers at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust could replace smear tests for spotting cervical cancers.

The probe is the size of a pen and uses electrical currents to scan cells, this would mean that women would get immediate results rather than waiting weeks for results as most women do with the conventional smear.

The probe has currently been tested on around 400 women and the studies have shown that the probe can spot early changes in the cells of the cervix that suggests a cancer may be developing. These are the same cells that are currently examined by smear tests. However, currently doctors have to send a slide with the cells on to a laboratory to be examined and this can take up to 5 weeks.

With the use of the probe the doctor would be able to examine the woman and check within minutes whether any of the cells have changes that might mean they are becoming cancerous. The probe sends any information it finds down a wire to a computer to analyse and then will tell the doctor the results. If any abnormalities show up the doctor can refer the woman for further tests and investigations.

John Tidy, the consultant gynaecologist who has been leading the study said "This will cut the time between diagnosis and treatment and avoid causing women to worry, often unnecessarily, while they wait for results. The introduction of a probe instead of smear testing may prove beneficial in the future as it will reduce the costs of the national screening programme."

Around 2,400 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK and the national screening programme has led to a large drop in the numbers dying from the disease.

Cancer Research UK said the research was interesting but that further studies would be needed to check whether the probe could detect suspect cancer cells in the clinic.

For more information on cervical cancer click here.

Smoking and a woman's fertility.

Researchers said that smoking has a "devastating" impact on a couple's chances of having an In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) baby.

A study carried out by Dutch scientists found that smoking adds the equivalent of 10 years to the reproductive age of women in their 20's and 30's who are having problems getting pregnant. Research also showed that being excessively overweight also seriously hindered the chances of giving birth after IVF treatment.

The harmful effects of both smoking and too much weight were strongest among women who had no obvious reason for being able to conceive.

Doctors from 12 centres across the Netherlands investigated the success rate of the first cycle of IVF treatment in over 8,000 women. The causes of low fertility were divided into 4 categories - fallopian tube problems, male fertility problems, unexplained problems and other reasons such as polycystic ovaries.

If they did fall pregnant women who smoked were also more likely to have miscarriages, around 21% of smokers lost their babies, compared with 16% of non-smokers.

43% of the women in the study were smokers who continued to smoke through their fertility treatment. Researchers found that the overall live birth rate for all women was 15.2% and was highest for the women who had unexplained problems at 17.8%. However, the birth rate among women who smoked was 28% lower than the overall average.

The researchers said that women who were having fertility treatment would massively improve their chances of having a baby if they did not smoke and were of normal weight.

For more information on smoking click here.

For more information on fertility click here.

To see our selection of fertility tests click here.

NEWS HISTORY

2006

Jan-March 2006

2005

Sept-Dec 2005